Zhi Li, Melissa L Sturge-Apple, Leena Twal, Elisa R de la Fuente, Patrick T Davies
{"title":"Children's social and emotional development in the shadow of a pandemic: A prospective, quasi-experimental study.","authors":"Zhi Li, Melissa L Sturge-Apple, Leena Twal, Elisa R de la Fuente, Patrick T Davies","doi":"10.1093/chidev/aacag145","DOIUrl":"10.1093/chidev/aacag145","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This multi-method, multi-informant, quasi-experimental study examines trajectories of child psychopathology over an 8-year period pre-and post-COVID-19 pandemic. We examined parenting as a moderator of the COVID-19 impact. Participants were 310 low-to-middle-income families from the United States with a target child followed over 6 waves (Wave 1, Mage = 2.97, SD = 0.38; 55.3% girls; 55.2% White, 21.3% African American, 16.2% mixed race; Wave 6: Mage = 9.32, SD = 0.76). Findings indicated that children exhibit significant linear growth and COVID-related growth above and beyond the linear growth in internalizing problems. Pre-COVID parenting moderated this effect, such that low paternal structure and consistency and low parental secure-base provision strengthened the association between COVID impact and the growth of internalizing problems, yielding greater increases under high impact and lower increases under low impact.</p>","PeriodicalId":10109,"journal":{"name":"Child development","volume":" ","pages":"1578-1593"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148705437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alyssa R Palmer, Patricia Tan, Hilary J Aralis, Naomi C Edwards, Sheryl H Kataoka, Alison Wood, Janet Hwang, Roya Ijadi-Maghsoodi
{"title":"Reading achievement among under-resourced K-2 students before, during, and after COVID-19 educational disruptions.","authors":"Alyssa R Palmer, Patricia Tan, Hilary J Aralis, Naomi C Edwards, Sheryl H Kataoka, Alison Wood, Janet Hwang, Roya Ijadi-Maghsoodi","doi":"10.1093/chidev/aacag146","DOIUrl":"10.1093/chidev/aacag146","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>COVID-19 disrupted early reading development, especially for under-resourced students. Few studies have evaluated early reading skill recovery after the return to in-person instruction. This study tracked reading achievement among 236,701 kindergarten through second-grade students from the academic year 2019-2020 to 2023-2024 (48.7% female; 69.8% Latine). Children had lower reading performance and less growth during remote instruction (2020-2021) compared with the pre-COVID cohort. Reading scores improved once in-person learning resumed. Kindergarten students who experienced remote instruction during COVID-19 demonstrated reading achievement recovery by the second grade. We also assessed if increased school-level (N = 467) support services were related to reading skill growth. Results demonstrated that early reading skill recovery is possible after mass disruptions.</p>","PeriodicalId":10109,"journal":{"name":"Child development","volume":" ","pages":"1689-1703"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148758513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marika Sigal, Yawei Huang, Michael A Medina, Amy Bellmore, Melissa R Witkow, Adrienne Nishina
{"title":"High school coping patterns and emerging adult mental health across COVID-19: A latent profile transition analysis.","authors":"Marika Sigal, Yawei Huang, Michael A Medina, Amy Bellmore, Melissa R Witkow, Adrienne Nishina","doi":"10.1093/chidev/aacag143","DOIUrl":"10.1093/chidev/aacag143","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Using latent profile transition analysis, this study identified patterns and developmental changes in adolescents' coping across high school prior to COVID-19 and examined whether pre-pandemic coping differentiated depressive symptom trajectories across the pandemic years as youth transitioned into emerging adulthood. Participants were a diverse cohort (N = 940; 51% female; 34% White, 26% Latinx, 15% Multi-racial and multi-ethnic) assessed annually in Grades 9-12 on 5 coping indicators (internalizing, externalizing, social support seeking, problem solving, and avoidance). Distinct coping profiles reflected relatively approach-oriented coping (Balanced; Regulated Approach) and more avoidant or reactive coping (Reactive Approach; Self-Directed). A low-engagement, self-directed profile emerged in Grade 9 and, by Grade 10, differentiated into Balanced or Self-Directed patterns. Profile transitions were most evident early in high school and became stabilized thereafter. With this later stability, Grade 12 coping patterns differentiated depressive symptom trajectories across the COVID-19 pandemic (2021-2023). Specifically, Balanced and Regulated Approach (i.e., approach-oriented) profiles had fewer depressive symptoms, whereas Reactive Approach and Self-Directed (i.e., avoidant, reactive) profiles had more depressive symptoms. Findings highlight both continuity and early reorganization in coping across adolescence and show that coping -pathways foreshadowed depressive symptom trajectories during the pandemic as youth transitioned into emerging adulthood.</p>","PeriodicalId":10109,"journal":{"name":"Child development","volume":" ","pages":"1533-1547"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148788904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maciel M Hernández, Kristia A Wantchekon, Olga Kornienko, Caroline Toth, Esther Burson, Valeria C Gutierrez, Priscila Gámez Hernández, Norma J Perez-Brena, M Dalal Safa, Alejandro Martinez, Faheemah N Mustafaa, Thao Ha
{"title":"Culturally relevant school support profiles are associated with academic achievement trajectories post-COVID dual pandemic onset.","authors":"Maciel M Hernández, Kristia A Wantchekon, Olga Kornienko, Caroline Toth, Esther Burson, Valeria C Gutierrez, Priscila Gámez Hernández, Norma J Perez-Brena, M Dalal Safa, Alejandro Martinez, Faheemah N Mustafaa, Thao Ha","doi":"10.1093/chidev/aacag158","DOIUrl":"10.1093/chidev/aacag158","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 racial awakening posed challenges to adolescents' academic functioning. Culturally relevant school supports are one potential source of resilience in the dual pandemic. This study examined whether heterogeneous culturally relevant school support profiles buffered declining grade point average (GPA) trajectories from 2019 to 2021 among sixth- and ninth-grade students in the U.S. Southwest (N = 717; Mage = 13.7; 49.9% girls; 31.8% Hispanic/Latinx, 31.5% Multiethnic, 25.7% White, 11.1% Black/African American, Asian American, American Indian, or AMENA). Ninth-grade students experiencing high general, moderate cultural, & critical support or low general, devoid cultural, & critical support had significantly better GPA trajectories than those experiencing moderate general & cultural, devoid critical support. Among sixth-grade students, no differences emerged. Discussion of these complex patterns focuses on implications for academic resilience after the dual pandemic.</p>","PeriodicalId":10109,"journal":{"name":"Child development","volume":" ","pages":"1638-1653"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148721575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Early learning ecologies and trajectories of behavioral health through the pandemic: A latent class growth analysis.","authors":"Lily S Fritz, Stephanie M Jones, Nonie K Lesaux","doi":"10.1093/chidev/aacag004","DOIUrl":"10.1093/chidev/aacag004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Using seven waves of longitudinal data collected from 1,459 3- to 11-year-old children in Massachusetts from 2018 to 2024 (50% female, 78% White, 18% Hispanic, 11% Black, 12% Other race), this study identified joint trajectories of internalizing, externalizing, and adaptive behaviors before, during, and since the COVID-19 pandemic and examined associations between children's early ecological contexts and their developmental trajectories. Parallel-process latent class growth analyses revealed four joint trajectories of behavioral health: High, Stable (44%), Below Average, Variable (40%), Low, Variable (8%), and Low Adaptive, Stable (7%). Across classes, children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors slightly improved post-pandemic onset but adaptive behaviors declined. Parental stress, household chaos, and preschool teacher-child relationship conflict were associated with trajectories characterized by pandemic-era declines in adaptive behaviors.</p>","PeriodicalId":10109,"journal":{"name":"Child development","volume":" ","pages":"1458-1471"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147289118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prosociality and aggression of peer group leaders: Relations with social, school, and psychological adjustment in Chinese adolescents.","authors":"Jiaxi Zhou, Xinyin Chen, Dan Li, Junsheng Liu, Tong Zhou, Xianguo Han, Minghao Zhang, Shujie Zheng","doi":"10.1093/chidev/aacag057","DOIUrl":"10.1093/chidev/aacag057","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This 2-year longitudinal study investigated the role of peer group leaders' prosociality and aggression in social, school, and psychological adjustment among early adolescents. Participants included 2,155 middle school students (1,085 boys; initial Mage = 12.91 years) in China. Data were collected in 2019 and 2021 from multiple sources, including self-reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and school records. Peer groups and their leaders were identified using the WalkTrap community detection algorithm, resulting in 239 peer group leaders across 220 peer groups. Multilevel analyses showed that group leaders' prosociality was positively associated with members' later prosociality and social preference. Group leaders' aggression was positively associated with members' aggression and behavioral and learning problems. The results indicate the importance of group leaders' characteristics for adolescent development.</p>","PeriodicalId":10109,"journal":{"name":"Child development","volume":" ","pages":"1739-1753"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147662229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do students become more likely to see themselves as a \"math person\" or a \"language person\" across K-12? Evidence from four U.S. longitudinal datasets.","authors":"Sirui Wan, Jing Tian, Siling Guo, Fani Lauermann","doi":"10.1093/chidev/aacag069","DOIUrl":"10.1093/chidev/aacag069","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Students often see themselves as \"math\" or \"language\" persons, yet the developmental course of these identities remains unclear. Using four U.S. longitudinal samples (Ns = 971-5,681; 46-92% White; 50-53% female; ages 6-18), this study classified students each year as math person, language person, both-high, or neither-high based on their importance ratings or ability self-concepts. The both-high group shrank, the language person group increased, and the math person group rose through middle school but plateaued in high school. Girls' shift toward language was steeper than boys'. In two samples with adult follow-ups, high-school math persons entered more math-intensive occupations than language persons. Middle and high school are critical windows for sustaining math identity and widening science, technology, engineering, and mathematics pathways.</p>","PeriodicalId":10109,"journal":{"name":"Child development","volume":" ","pages":"1868-1879"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13659779/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148142797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Closer, but less accurate: Relationship closeness and empathic accuracy in parent-adolescent dyads.","authors":"Sihan Liu, Lin-Xin Wang, Yujun Wang, Eva J Geiger, Haran Sened, Jutta Joormann, Reuma Gadassi-Polack","doi":"10.1093/chidev/aacag157","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/chidev/aacag157","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Empathic accuracy (EA), the ability to correctly perceive another's emotional state, is crucial for emotional communication in parent-adolescent relationships. A total of 112 dyads (adolescent Mage = 14.13; 54.5% girls) participated in a 28-day daily diary study conducted between July 2022 and May 2023. We used the multilevel Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to assess how baseline and daily perceived closeness-reported by both parents and adolescents-predicted parent and adolescent EA in daily life. Results showed that greater perceived closeness predicted lower EA for both the perceiver and their partner, particularly for negative emotions. This is consistent with the motivated inaccuracy perspective: closeness may dampen attention to negative emotions to avoid relational discomfort. Conversely, on days when closeness was low, dyads exhibited greater EA, suggesting compensatory efforts to reconnect.</p>","PeriodicalId":10109,"journal":{"name":"Child development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148817587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Peer victimization, school belonging, and epigenetic aging among children of Latino immigrants.","authors":"Rebeca Alvarado-Harris, Krista M Perreira","doi":"10.1093/chidev/aacag164","DOIUrl":"10.1093/chidev/aacag164","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>U.S.-born children of Latino immigrants often begin life with health advantages, yet the developmental conditions that -sustain or erode these advantages remain unclear. Drawing on socioecological and sociocultural perspectives, this study examined whether peer victimization and school belonging in middle childhood predicted changes in epigenetic aging from childhood to adolescence. These associations were compared between children of immigrant and U.S.-born Latina mothers. Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study data were collected in 2007-2010 and 2014-2017 (N = 341; mean age 9.5 years; 50.7% female). Peer victimization and school belonging were self-reported at age 9, and epigenetic age was estimated at ages 9 and 15 using the Pediatric-Buccal-Epigenetic clock. Among children of immigrant mothers, greater victimization predicted faster aging (β = .57, p = .002), whereas stronger school belonging predicted slower aging (β = -.28, p = .034). Victimization predicted faster epigenetic aging only when school belonging was moderate or high, suggesting that social threat may carry greater biological consequences when children are emotionally invested in school. These patterns were not observed among children of U.S.-born Latina mothers. Experiences of inclusion and exclusion may become biologically embedded, shaping whether early health advantages are maintained or eroded over time.</p>","PeriodicalId":10109,"journal":{"name":"Child development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13677107/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148788878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antonia M H Piergies, Ana-Maria Iosif, Gregory S Young, Devon N Gangi, Amy J Schwichtenberg, Sally Ozonoff, Meghan Miller
{"title":"Early-life trajectories of dyadic synchrony among infants developing autism or concerns for ADHD.","authors":"Antonia M H Piergies, Ana-Maria Iosif, Gregory S Young, Devon N Gangi, Amy J Schwichtenberg, Sally Ozonoff, Meghan Miller","doi":"10.1093/chidev/aacag152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/chidev/aacag152","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study followed infants at elevated and average likelihood for autism or ADHD (n = 163) from 6-36 months, classifying them into 36-month outcome groups: Autism (n = 28), ADHD Concerns (n = 20), or Comparison (n = 115). The sample was predominantly male, White, and non-Hispanic. Between 2013 and 2019, caregiver-child dyads played up to five times, with gaze, positive affect, and vocalizations coded from video. Developmental trajectories of dyadic synchrony (the degree of state matching and turn-taking relative to chance) were estimated via mixed-effects models. From 6 to 36 months, overall synchrony was lower in the Autism vs. Comparison group. Within behavior modalities, there were unique patterns of actor responsiveness, with mixed evidence for outcome group differences. Future research should explore links between synchrony, developmental milestones, services, and longer-term outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":10109,"journal":{"name":"Child development","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148788918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}